Watch “Narcissism and Reflexive Self “ (tomorrow's lecture)
An ontologically insecure person does not accept at a fundamental level the reality or existence of things, themselves, and others. In contrast, the ontologically secure person has a stable and unquestioned sense of self and of his or her place in the world in relation to other people and objects.
Ontological insecurity is important for understanding identity because it is an essential foundation for a person to achieve a stable sense of self-identity. In an existential sense, if a person does not believe that he or she exists and that other people and objects are real, that person does not have the necessary foundations to develop a stable self-identity.
(From "Encyclopedia of Identity")
Further Readings
Giddens, A. (1990). The consequences of modernity. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
Giddens, A. (1991). The self: Ontological security and existential anxiety. In Modernity and self-identity: Self and society in the late modern age (pp. 35–69). Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
Laing, R. D. (1965). Ontological insecurity. In The divided self (pp. 39–61). Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin Books.
Spitzer, S. P. (1978). Ontological insecurity and reflective processes. Journal of Phenomenological Psychology, 8(2), 203–217.
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